Rod Kaye Photography

Ms. Chloe...

2010-11-01T16:02:00.004-04:00

I had a recent session with a really fun couple and their adorable daughter, Chloe, who recently turned two. I'm blessed to have had the pleasure of basically watching her grow up these past couple of years. And while it never ceases to amaze me how dramatic the changes can be, she has truly sprouted from the last time I photographed her. One thing that hasn't changed though is her infectious and warm personality. I fully attribute that directly to her parents who are really just a great couple.

And while the mom warned me that Chloe was not one to stop for long, I confidently brushed that off in my mind only to have to do an about face and eat crow. I would like to think that there is not a child that I cannot capture (photographically of course) and catch, but Ms. Chloe was definitely one busy, fast child. She was challenging in that regard and I tend to agree with her Mom that sports may be in her future! Here are a few samples of when I did manage to slow her down. Enjoy!

A Gift from God...

2010-10-12T00:27:00.005-04:00

Please forgive my lack of staying on top of my blog as I have no good excuse...Now onto my session with the incredible family I photographed recently for a maternity session as well as portraits of their son, Nicholas. Shortly after that session Mom was put on bed rest and ordered to take it easy.

Well as you can see, baby Grace has arrived and is absolutely gorgeous! Words cannot express how happy I am for this couple and of course young Nicholas. They are very special people and I feel so fortunate and blessed that they have been put in my path...Here are just a few quick images from the session...

Incredible Growing Family...

2010-08-25T20:07:00.006-04:00

I first met this couple late last year when they were going through some very difficult circumstances. As tough as the situation was, I felt an immediate connection with them. I hoped that when and if I saw them again, the mood would be much more joyful. When I received a call from Kimberly stating that she would like to schedule a session for their son, Nicholas, who was turning two, I was very pleased. When she also said that she was pregnant, I was elated.

In trying to find an appropriate location for outdoor maternity portraits as well as portraits of a toddler, the garden that I had recently used came to mind. I am so thankful and appreciative that Judy was gracious enough to allow me to use her garden once again. It looked even more amazing this time and appeared almost "quenched" having had a soaking rain the night before. I cannot say enough about how beautiful this location is.

It was so good to see them again and to meet Nicholas. He is just a wonderful little boy and was following every direction or request I made. Very impressive for a boy who just turned two a couple of weeks ago...He seems so excited to meet the new baby and I know that Mom and Dad also concur with those sentiments. Without any further delay here are a few samples from our session...

Senior Guy...

2010-08-23T13:54:00.004-04:00

Nominated for best family photographer in Atlanta, GA. Vote now!
The vast majority of HS Seniors that I photograph are girls mostly in part because guys could really care less about the whole process. When I was a HS Senior (during the Stone Age) you really only had an option for the yearbook formal. Now it is formal, casual and the whole nine yards...

I did a session recently for Juan from Walton HS and he is just an all around good guy. He definitely falls into the above category of not caring about having portraits done, but was gracious and patient enough to let me get some images of not only himself, but also his sister. I even coaxed a couple out of his parents on the spur of the moment...Anyway Juan is a great guy with a really bright future and I wish him the best. Here are a few samples...By the way, only a few more days to vote for me and I appreciate them all!

Wedding Bliss...

2010-08-22T23:29:00.004-04:00

My apologies for the delay, but things have been a bit hectic lately and thus I am way behind in my posts...I cannot catch up on all of them, but I will do what I can in the next few days. Although I don't advertise that I do weddings, if the situation is right I will gladly photograph them. The "situation" of this wedding could not have been more perfect as the Groom is a good friend of mine. His wife, Sherry, is wonderful and I was so very happy to be so honored to document their day, errr, evening...The Strand on the Square in Marietta was a very cool place to exchange vows and host the reception and thankfully the rain that had threatened most of the day held off...Here are a few images for fun...

Truly Angelic...

2010-08-03T23:06:00.005-04:00

Nominated for best family photographer in Atlanta, GA. Vote now!
I had an amazing session the other day in every sense of the word. The daughters of the Associate Pastor from my church (Mt. Zion UMC) simply glowed against the lush setting for our session. Their mom's choice of white dresses were the perfect choice for this location.

I want to personally thank Judy, who is also a member of my church, for allowing us to do the session at her home. I don't know which was more impressive; her sincere hospitality or her incredible yard. Judy is a master gardener and is highly acclaimed for her talents. I was blown away by the depth of her garden which seemed to have layer upon layer and was something out of a fairy tale...Sara and Anna Kate couldn't have been better subjects and I so appreciate their patience. I hope you enjoy the few samples included here...BTW, only 28 more days to vote!

Aubrey...

2010-07-28T17:40:00.005-04:00

Nominated for best family photographer in Atlanta, GA. Vote now!
I had the pleasure of doing a Senior session recently for Aubrey, who will be graduating next year. She just returned from spending time in Colorado and was fortunate enough to have much more comfortable temperatures while getting to do some pretty cool stuff. Unfortunately for her, she got forced back into reality because although our session didn't start until after 5:30, it was still quite hot and humid.

It didn't seem to bother her in the least as she was up for whatever pose or location I suggested as well as those of her own. Thankfully her Mom, Donna, was also there and she had great ideas too. Aubrey definitely seemed to have a sense of adventure, but I'm not sure if it equals that of her Mom yet who recently returned from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. I guess only time will tell. Anyway, here are a few "teaser" images from our session...

Blossoming Personality...

2010-07-11T16:23:00.011-04:00

Nominated for best family photographer in Atlanta, GA. Vote now!
While seeing my friends is always fun, documenting their 7 month old daughter as her personality explodes is just a bonus. Lyla is such a sweetheart and I know Jim and Beth Ann are both amazed and probably a little scared at how quickly she is growing and changing into a little girl. Its a difficult time as you are longing for them to get bigger and more self sufficient, yet you also know the baby stage will be gone forever. Life is certainly a game of give and takes, but this is a tough phase to muster through...Here I am writing like I have all this experience, yet I'm in full roller coaster mode as my kids are only 4 and nearly 6...

A quick side note; I was once again selected and nominated for the Best Family Photographer in Atlanta by Nickelodeon Parents Connect Parents' Picks. This is the second year in a row I made it to the final round and although I won the Atlanta area MomsLikeMe.com contest for Best Atlanta Photographer, I finished 2nd last year in Nickelodeon's voting. Of course I would love to have your support as you can vote once a day through August 31st. So if you have a minute while surfing the web, please click on the link and place a vote for me. So here is a quick link and also some images of the beautiful Ms. Lyla...

High School Senior...

2010-06-18T16:09:00.006-04:00

I had another great Senior session the other day in which we had to work very quickly in order to stay dry. I use that term loosely as with the heat and humidity, that's not really possible. It was the dark skies in the distance that we were trying to beat. We had planned on at least two locations, but that didn't work as the rain, wind and thunder came in quite a serious way...

Even though we were working quickly, Erin was completely calm and relaxed the whole time and was great to work with. And many thanks to her mom, Lisa, who was handy with a brush or to offer her styling suggestions. I know she is so very proud of her daughter. She is yet another senior with so much too look forward to in life. Please enjoy the "teaser" images...

Full House...

2010-06-15T14:19:00.006-04:00

I had a fun, but hot and humid session the other day with a wonderful group of children. Despite the heat and humidity they were incredible and barley complained at all about my shuffling them to and fro for portraits... I really loved the color and outfit coordination that mom had planned and I think it worked extremely well. My wife and I sometimes feel stressed with two children but watching Mom handle the four with ease certainly encouraged me to stop the whining...at least for a little while. Here are a few quick images from the session...

Senior Bliss...

2010-06-10T21:03:00.008-04:00

I had another great HS Senior session the other day with an all too soon to be High School graduate. While it still may be a year before she actually walks across that stage, we all know just how quickly that time will pass. I give Lauren a lot of credit as I know she would have rather been a hundred places instead of getting her portraits done, yet she hid any discontent well. She is an extremely bright and attractive girl who I'm sure will be very successful in whatever she decides to do upon graduation...

How quickly a year goes by...

2010-06-03T16:06:00.004-04:00

I hate to say that I've been neglecting the blog, but its true. Just enjoying family time and got a little sidetracked...

Anyway, I had a one year session with Mr. Christian whom I have been documenting since before he came out of his mothers belly. He popped out early and a little on the small side, but he has grown so very well. His parents are absolutely awesome and I think the world of them. He also has the most wonderful grand parents as well as aunts and uncles so he is constantly awash in love...During our session there was thunder all around from the moment we started till we were done, yet not a drop of rain fell. Here are a few quickie samples from our session...

Getting Older...

2010-05-14T22:49:00.004-04:00

Today was my daughters last day of Preschool. Next year (in a few months) she begins kindergarten and some major changes. I want to thank Amelia's teachers from this past year, Mrs.Ellis and Mrs.Nitz, who took great care of her and prepared her well for her next step. Part of me is truly excited for her, yet almost a bigger part of me is sad because these years are moving so very fast. My son Justin will turn four next Tuesday and watching him mature has been quite the ride. As in the scripture, John 5:19, - Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. This is so true. I find him mimicking so many things that I do which can be quite scary. From my language or occasional outburst to my silly facial expressions, he is the ultimate sponge and it has certainly made me be more cognizant of my actions. The other day we had a blast as we went and got haircuts together and then he helped me deliver a few jobs to several clients. He makes great company on those trips as does Amelia when she is available. Anyway, on to some images from this afternoon...

Sessions at Gretchen's Childrens Shop...

2010-05-06T00:40:00.007-04:00

I want to thank everyone who braved the rainy nasty weather on Monday to come out for the Sessions at Gretchen's Children's Shop. We filled up the sessions within a few days of announcing the event which was awesome. The whole day was an absolute blast and I also want to of course thank Anne and the rest of the crew from Gretchen's. I'm still knee deep into editing all of the images, but I wanted to quickly post a few to show a little of what we did. Enjoy...

Ready to set the World on Fire...

2010-05-01T10:10:00.005-04:00

I photographed an incredible HS Senior the other day who is poised to take the world by storm. Although I've already started booking sessions for 2011 Seniors, Kaitlyn is actually graduating in just a few weeks. She has a great plan for next phase of her life and I wish her the best. We attempted to do the session a few days prior, but the weather did not fully cooperate. No such problem on this day as the weather was perfect. Here are just a few images from the session...

Birthday Girl...

2010-04-29T23:58:00.004-04:00

My apologies for not doing a better job staying on top of my blog, but my only excuse is simply a lack of time. Now on to my recent session of a beautiful little curly red head who happened to be celebrating her 1st birthday. Happy Birthday Tara! She had the most incredible disposition for a one year old and was smiling from the moment I saw her to the time I left. Her parents demeanor has certainly rubbed off well. And now for a few teaser images...

Fun Session...

2010-04-20T16:29:00.005-04:00

I had the pleasure of doing another session with a family I first photographed in November. Their daughter, Maura, just recently turned one and her parents wanted to do a session centered around her but of course with images of her older brother Gabe as well.

We had a gorgeous afternoon and couldn't have asked for a better day. Maura has the most beautiful blue eyes and coupled with her curly red hair, she is simply a doll. She is going to get plenty of love and affection from Mr. Gabe as I'm sure he'll be quite protective of her. For our session, Dad did an awesome job of being the safety valve and staying just out of the frame yet being close enough to catch her if she became unstable. Many thanks to you Dad and of course always to Mom for keeping the kids hydrated and full of snacks as needed. Here are a few quick images to keep whet your appetite until the rest are ready to view...

Welcome Mr. Bryson!!

2010-04-02T12:49:00.004-04:00

I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful new addition to a really cool family the other day. Mr. Bryson was born on the 22nd of March and came in just under a very healthy 8 lbs. He has a beautiful older sister who I know will take great care of him. The whole family is tried and true UGA fans and I'm sure you may get a hint of this from one of the images above. Somehow I also envision a Motorcycle in his not too distant future...I hope you enjoy the few samples I've included here...

Sweet Lyla at Three Months...

2010-03-23T17:48:00.006-04:00

It seems like just yesterday I was photographing Lyla's newborn images. She was beautiful as a newborn but it quite stunning now. Many people will say that all babies are cute, but I beg to differ. This child has nothing to worry about in that department. Her Dad on the other hand will have some sleepless nights as she grows into adulthood...The other parents out there can attest to just how quickly the time flies and her folks will learn this too.

I truly love watching how the birth of a child affects new parents and its one of the most remarkable, yet humbling times in our lives. Ten years ago I couldn't have even pictured myself as a Dad, but now it is what drives me and is certainly the most rewarding aspect of my life. I'm fairly confident that both Jim and Beth Ann feel that same now or will very soon.

The bond that forms between a parent and child is pretty amazing and definitely runs the gamut of emotions. I feel so blessed to do what I do for a living. To record these moments and ever growing relationships is a gift that I cherish. Above are a few samples from our session...

Pre-Easter Madness...

2010-03-22T12:22:00.004-04:00

Back to blogging after too long of a break. Since my March Madness Bracket got busted, I figured I would post some Pre-Easter Madness from my recent Easter sessions at PLAY. It was a blast and I really want to thank Colleen at PLAY for the wonderful space as well as the folks from the House Rabbit Society of Georgia which supplied the Bunnies. I also of course want to thank all of the folks who came out for the sessions. There were many new faces along with some very familiar ones. I hope you had as much fun as I did!

I will say at one point (when some of the kids were screaming and poking the rabbits in the eye) I was questioning my chosen profession, but I quickly got past that. Here are just a few of my favorites from the weekend...

"History Made in Nordic Combined"

2010-02-23T23:04:00.003-05:00

The U.S. Team made history today in the Nordic Combined competition in which the various countries utilize 3 or 4 skiers to do the Ski Jump early in the day and then follow it up with a Cross Country Race later in the day to determine the Medals.

The U. S. has historically struggled in such events with the favorites always being the Northern European Countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland and Austria. Well we broke through today with our first Medal ever (Silver) and had the Gold within our reach until the last few hundred yards which is a pretty awesome accomplishment.

I'll be wrapping up my tribute to the Games over the next couple of days as the access to my images is running thin. Anyway I hope some of you enjoyed my mini tribute to the Games and will continue to watch as the U.S. attempts to have a record setting Winter Games!

"Freestyling"

2010-02-22T22:59:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post this evening as I am about spent after a crazy day. I'm still on an emotional high after the U.S. Hockey win over Canada last night and its shaping up for a similar (but more important) showdown with the Women. Should be fun. Anyway, here is a quick freestyle image for fun...

"Ode to Bode"

2010-02-22T00:10:00.003-05:00

This post goes out to Bode Miller who captured the Gold Medal in the Alpine Skiing Super Combined Competition which consists of the combined best times of the Downhill and Slalom races in the same day. He has been one the the best hopes for a U.S. Gold since the Salt Lake Games in 2002 but only managed two silvers at those Games. Four years later in Torino, he was shut out as his main focus seemed to be partying as opposed to skiing. Been there, done that.

Since those Games in Italy he has married and fathered a little girl and not surprisingly, has calmed down and has re-committed himself. Children can definitely change your direction in an instant and help you do amazing things. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the U.S. Hockey Team upsetting the heavily favored Canadian Club. Love it, love it, love it!!!

"Like an Eagle"

2010-02-20T22:47:00.004-05:00

Once again the "Crazies" were flying high again. I certainly mean no disrespect as anyone that can go to the top of that tower, squat down on ski's and then push off at the end of the jump as they are looking down upon all of the specs of people. To me that's not the crazy part, the crazy part is when they have the FAITH to lean forward as they are flying through the air and soaring down hill. These guys are nearly parallel to the ground as they fly. If that is not faith, I don't know what is. Now if we can all manage to trust in the Lord and have that same kind of faith, we'll be just fine...

"Super G Along with Some Ski Jumping Action"

2010-02-19T22:16:00.004-05:00

These sports are exactly the reason why I love the Winter Olympics far more than the Summer Games. There is absolutely no comparison in my mind. To me, with the exception of a few sports most notably Figure Skating and Curling, the Winter Games are all about action and taking risks. I think back to growing up as a kid watching The Wide World of Sports on ABC. "The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat."

The competition today consisted of two of these sports, the Men's Super G Skiing event and the Large Hill Ski Jumping. Both of these are wild to watch and even more fun to photograph. A few samples from my experience in Lake Placid are above...

"Soaring in the Halfpipe"

2010-02-18T22:51:00.003-05:00

Talk about some big air! Shawn White and the rest of the group of competitors were doing phenomenal tricks that boggled my mind. I just don't know where these guys are going to go next but it seems that they keep managing to come up with something else wilder than before.

This sport has grown so much and so fast since I photographed the Halfpipe in Lake Placid. Those guys blew my mind but the current group offers no comparison. And the women can bring it too. I was pulling for Hannah Teeter to win Gold again after seeing the personal story they ran on her and what she did after winning the Gold Medal 4 years ago in the Turin Games. She has done amazing things with her fame since that point and is making a huge contribution for Children in Africa as well as the folks of Haiti. A Silver Medal is still not too bad!

"Ripping Downhills"

2010-02-17T21:14:00.006-05:00

I didn't have the time to acknowledge the Men's Downhill Race the other night in which Bode Miller grabbed a Bronze Medal in the closest race in Olympic Downhill History. Gold and Bronze Medals were separated by 9/10's of a second! These competitors, both Men and Women, absolutely live on the edge at all times during their race. They travel at over 70 MPH, get some big air and are virtually skiing on ice with intense turns and angles. One of the Women's highly touted competitors lost control over the last jump and actually traveled 190 ft in the air before landing in an ugly crash! But Congratulations goes to USA's Lindsey Vonn (Gold) and Julia Mancuso (Silver) in the Women's Downhill held earlier today. What an awesome event!!

It was always my absolute favorite event as a child to watch and one I always dreamed of covering as a photographer. When I was in Lake Placid, it was the first event I covered while I was there and it was quite the adventure. My back had been out leading up to the trip and I had to hike up the mountain for what seemed like forever with all of my equipment (until I flagged down and hitched a ride on a snowcat) in temperatures that were minus 30 with the windchill. Due to those high winds, the race was postponed several times of course after I had got to what I thought was an optimum vantage point. Then with the race finally given a starting time (nearly 6 hours later than scheduled) and my hands and fingers almost completely numb, the TV folks come and decide a huge advertising banner would look great directly in front of my position. My potty mouth absolutely exploded and and it almost got physical with the poor person responsible for putting that sign up. After much debate with the producer, I convinced him to move it slightly to keep the position that I had scouted for so long.

With the vantage point I had fought so hard for, I still could not see or hear the competitors coming as I was below a jump which obviously posed a huge problem. Luckily during on of the postponements I was able to befriend one of the course staff and we worked out a signal system where he let me know when he first viewed a racer. I then had to count off several seconds to myself and start firing the shutter. Yes there were some blank frames, but I also got some incredible images in my humble opinion. Above are just a couple...

"Snowboard Cross"

2010-02-16T18:11:00.003-05:00

I hope some of you were able to catch the Snowboard Cross event and Race for the Gold last night. Seth Wescott first had to qualify based on time and in his first run he had a bit of a slip which put him in the back of the pack. His second qualifying run was better but he was still in 14th position before the groupings started. He then had to finish in the top two for two consecutive races to get into the final. After fighting to just get into the final, he quickly found himself in last place after about a quarter of the race. But he kept his cool and his patience and made pass after pass to thrust himself into first and hold on for a tight victory to secure another Gold Medal. He was defending his Gold from the Torino Games in Italy four years ago.

The event I photographed in Lake Placid was incredible but it turned out that the finish line was one of the better locations to be action-wise. There were some pretty bad falls and one that required an athlete being airlifted to the local hospital. Anyway, here ya go...

"Freestyling and Moguls"...

2010-02-15T14:46:00.004-05:00

I really enjoyed watching the Freestyle and Moguls competition the past two nights with both the Women and Men competing in successive evenings. I don't think the TV coverage truly did the competition justice in showing just how steep the course is. Obviously all courses are different to one degree or another, but generally they have close to the same angle of descent. In Lake Placid I was having quite a difficult time climbing the course as outside of the course fence the snow was up to my waist. It was great seeing Hannah Kearney win the Gold with all the pressure of being the last competitor to race. As for the Men's Competition obviously I was hoping the American, Bryon Wilson, would sneak out the Gold, but I was actually happy to see the Canadians and Alexandre Bilodeau get the monkey off their back and win the Gold. On top of that it is such a great story about Alexandre's brother who is battling Cerebral Palsy. Great stuff for sure!

For anyone out there looking for my images of Figure Skating or other Indoor events from Lake Placid I'm sorry to say you will be disappointed. Those Games were a year or two before I went Digital and thus I was still using that dinosaur known as film. Couple that with older Indoor Facilities in Lake Placid and that equals very low light and not the optimum conditions for getting great images. I then opted to concentrate on the outdoor events as best I could. Please note as well that not all of the current Olympic events were held at the Goodwill Games in Lake Placid...In any event, I'll show you some of what I managed to get.

"Love the Olympics"

2010-02-14T16:59:00.006-05:00

I cannot help the fact that I truly enjoy not only watching all of the competition of the Olympics, but I really like hearing and reading the side stories about the different athletes. These folks have made such huge commitments with their lives to get to this point. Some come so far only to suffer an injury in the end...What I loved when I covered the Winter sports in Lake Placid was simply being on my own to choose the sport, location and angle of what I wanted to photograph. I had complete freedom to cover what I wanted, when I wanted as long as I could get to my spot which at times was quite challenging hiking through a few feet of snow...Anyway, here are a few more images from Lake Placid which somewhat correspond with the events from Vancouver today...

"Tribute to the Winter Olympics"

2010-02-13T18:04:00.003-05:00

As many of you know, I am a sports nut and photographed professional sports for 15 years including the 96'Summer Olympics for Sports Illustrated. Schedule-wise, I was never fortunate enough to cover the Winter Olympics which is my favorite of the two, but I did cover the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games in Lake Placid, NY for Turner Broadcasting. It was an incredible experience and one that has me thinking about covering a future Winter Games as my children get a little older. But I gave up sports photography to be with my family as my kids grow up and I'm in no hurry to change that thinking as I love what I'm doing with my family and children photography.

I have decided though to post an image or two each day of the Vancouver Olympics from my lone Winter Sports photography experience. I hope you enjoy...

"Love the Snow"

2010-02-13T13:32:00.005-05:00

I miss the snow... occasionally. There is a part of me that would love to get the huge amounts that the Northeast has received lately, but it would have to be gone in a week or two (and with no flooding). It's always nice for the kids to experience some snow at home and to go a little crazy for a while. But I too enjoy just getting out and trying to be a little creative. In fact I was out in my backyard till about Midnight walking around popping off my flash along with a flashlight working to "light" a 115 ft Oak tree. I apologize to my neighbor, Mort, for freaking him out with the late night activity. So above is my "Oak tree" along with some other images from earlier yesterday.

Also, please keep and eye out for some images to come later today and all during the course of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. I'll provide a little more details in my next post...

"Christian at Eight Months"...

2010-02-11T17:59:00.008-05:00

I photographed Mr. Christian Lee's 8 month session recently and it is always so fun to see how he is growing and progressing. He is doing phenomenal and he has those chunky legs and arms that my wife tends to like so much about babies. He plays one mean case of forearm flute and is really starting to chatter. We had a great, relaxing session and really got a nice selection of images that I believe Mom and Dad will be quite happy with. Christian has got some amazingly cool parents that that I always look forward to seeing. They give me great freedom and are always open to the different locations or backgrounds that I suggest. I hope everyone enjoys to "teaser"images I have posted above...

RedBubble work...

2010-02-08T19:30:00.002-05:00

I just started selling some of my images on this cool website based out of Australia. They have some amazing work and I'm happy to be a part of it. The prices are pretty reasonable too. Please note that the above slideshow is showing cropped versions of my images, please view the RedBubble site for the full uncropped versions. I'll be adding images on a regular basis so please keep an eye out. They'll be a great deal of my sports images as well as various locations and still lifes and other personal work...Enjoy!

Family energy...

2010-02-02T18:20:00.006-05:00

I recently photographed a wonderful family that I have known for years. They are really a warm and loving family not only amongst themselves but everyone they touch. They are very active within their church and community and are generally the first to help when something is needed.

Their children, Andrew and Lauren, are vibrant bundles of energy. I know that if we get together as families that my children will definitely sleep well that night because they'll be absolutely exhausted. We love any opportunity that we get to see them and hang out unfortunately its its far too infrequent. Anyway above are a few of the images from our session...

The Kids are a growing...

2010-01-29T16:33:00.005-05:00

I have been inundated with requests for some updated images of my two children, Amelia and Justin. These guys keep me grounded and absolutely amaze me every day. Its funny that when I was younger, thinner around the waist and much crazier (ie: when I was single), the thoughts of children rarely if ever crossed my mind. And when they did it was always in amazement and somewhat terror. I would always watch my married friends with their kids or my oldest brother and his wife juggle their lives around my niece and nephews schedules and be completely in awe as well as exhausted just as an outsider. It made me really contemplate if kids were in my future when I was to get married.

Now having two of my own, I cannot think of life without them. They are in the "sponge" years and latch on to just about everything whether I want them to or not. I truly love to document their changes and how they are growing because it happens at such a mind blowing rate that I don't want to have those regrets when they (and I) are older. This is why I love what I do and really enjoy documenting my clients children and families and do my absolute best to provide artwork for them that they will cherish for a lifetime. I feel like I am entrusted with capturing the personality and stage of life at that moment and I view it as an incredible responsibility. All of that may sound stiff and stressful but it is exactly the opposite as the sessions are always a blast and really stress-free. Anyway, I've rambled a bit too much for now but just wanted to provide a little glimpse of why I do what I do. Hope you enjoy the above pix of my kids...

Upcoming Promo for Professionals...

2010-01-28T11:05:00.004-05:00

I'm taking a break from my regular post to mention an upcoming special I'm running for professional's in the area who are looking to "revamp" or update their look for the New Year. I'll be running this for two different weeks during the second and fourth weeks in February. I did something similar last year and it was pretty successful so I thought I would bring it back and "tweak" it just a bit.

This is perfect for Professional's/Executives, Musician's, Real Estate Agents or anyone who needs to have their image for use in their business or marketing. The details of the promotion are included above but some highlights are: Brief sessions on location either utilizing a background or your own surroundings, images fully retouched and set up for Web use and/or print, fully licensed and released. Please call or contact me for specific questions or to make a reservation.

Aleksandr...

2010-01-25T10:08:00.005-05:00

I did a session recently of one of my favorite clients, or more specifically of her son, Aleksandr. They had moved out of town a little over a year ago but I'm happy to say that they have decided to move back. We ended up doing this session at Centennial Olympic Park and had pretty much the run of the park to ourselves. Alek was running all over and was really having a good time playing with what remaining leaves he could find. He is a great kid and it has been fun watching him grow up these past couple of years...

HS Senior Session...

2010-01-22T16:38:00.004-05:00

I had the chance recently to photograph a young man who will be graduating in a matter of months. I've had the pleasure of knowing Scott for a few years now and also was fortunate enough to photograph his brother a couple of years ago. Scott is a sharp guy who is bound for greatness. He has a number of school options awaiting him after graduation and I'm confident that whatever he chooses, success will follow...Good Luck Scott!

Family on the Square...

2010-01-21T11:32:00.003-05:00

In my continuing effort to get some recent work up on my blog, today's post is of one of my favorite clients, not too mention some dear friends. They are an incredibly fun family. Their children, Ruby and Wilder, definitely keep their parents in check but all in a good way. It doesn't matter wherever we end up doing the session, we always get great images and end up having a blast doing so. For this session we simply roamed the Square in Marietta and thankfully were blessed with some awesome light. Here is a small selection of those images...

Sweet Lyla...

2010-01-20T16:02:00.004-05:00

For anyone who happened to view the recent (as in before my 1st surgery) maternity session I did for some good friends of mine, the fruit of their labor can be seen above. Miss Lyla Ann arrived on December 6th and she is absolutely stunning. I am so happy for both Jim and Beth Ann and I know that they are going to enjoy all the varying aspects of parenthood, or lets just say most of them. So without further delay, here are a few images from our session...

Catching up is hard to do...

2010-01-19T16:07:00.004-05:00

Since I have been out of commission during the past couple of months I have not had the time nor the energy to stay on top of my blog. Shame on me. Well it is still important to me to get some images online to let you all know what I have been up to. So over the next few days I plan on doing just that...

Let me first start with some recognition that I received recently from the Around Town Magazine publication. I first was selected several months ago to be the Pathfinder of the month which recognizes various charity work that I do in the community. That was a huge honor for me, but they also chose me as Pathfinder of the Year which certainly trumped the monthly award. Above you will find a copy the article.

Eager Anticipation...

2009-11-24T09:54:00.004-05:00

I photographed an incredible couple recently who are awaiting the birth of their first child in early December. By the look of her beautiful tummy, I hope she makes it past Thanksgiving and to her due date. I'm sure her belly is accentuated by her thin frame, but even so...I'm overly excited for this couple not only because it is their first child, but also because they are dear friends of mine. Jim is one of the finest people I know on this planet and I'm so happy for him and of course his beautiful wife, Beth Ann, to experience parenthood. Without further delay, here are a few images from our session...

A Wonderful Day, A Wonderful Family...

2009-11-16T00:17:00.004-05:00

For the past few days we have been blessed with absolutely stunning weather. And after all of the rain and nastiness recently, these days have been long overdue. Thankfully this beautiful weather allowed me to finally photograph a family whose sessions have been postponed several times recently. I had a great deal of fun and I'm pretty sure they did too, especially their twins, Audrey and Conner, who were constantly on the go and exploring. What great kids! Here are a few quick images from the session...

Great friends, Great Looking Family...

2009-11-11T12:41:00.003-05:00

I did a Session the other day of some dear friends of mine. It is always so good to see such a fun and loving family who are so well grounded. They are truly messengers of Christ and they serve the Lord each and every day. Here are a few quick peeks into their session...

4 the Flight...

2009-11-03T09:40:00.005-05:00

Kaitlyn...

2009-10-29T22:35:00.004-04:00

Please bear with my blog issues as I am still going back and forth between blogs but hope to rectify this situation soon. In the meantime, I am once again blogging here and am excited to show a few sample images from my recent Senior session with Kaitlyn. She is bright, energetic and has a great future ahead of her. I hope you enjoy these images and that they provide a glimpse into the session...

Like a weed...

2009-10-02T16:42:00.003-04:00

Well, its been months since I last blogged on this site and have since set up shop with a new blog. But as things may have it, I am now in a state of flux with my blog situation so I'm going to post here for now and may transfer to the other blog shortly. I wanted to get these quick pix up as I know they are anxious to see them.

This family is awesome and Mr. Christian is growing like a weed. He was born a bit early but you would never know it by looking at him now. Anyway, I love it when I throw out ideas for images or locations and clients are receptive. That is certainly the case with John and Kristina and I think it paid off as the location worked out really well. In any event, here are some quick samples from the session. Enjoy!

Too much Fun...

2009-06-13T11:20:00.005-04:00

I did a session yesterday with awesome clients and friends, the Van Zandt's. They are such a great and fun family and I thoroughly enjoy every Session I do for them. This one was even more special because Maggie's mother, Mary was in town and participated in the Session. And on top of that, it was their oldest daughters birthday, Sophia. Sophia who is now three has truly taken to the role of Big sister. Although you can see how her personality and individuality shines, she is always there to watch after her little sister, Bailey. It is so fun watching the interaction between these two sisters and I know it will only get more interesting as they get older. I'll let several of the very many images speak for themselves... Enjoy!!

He's Here...

2009-06-04T18:07:00.006-04:00

A few short weeks ago I had the opportunity to create some maternity photographs for a fantastic young, successful couple, John and Kristina. They were eagerly expecting the birth of their first child around the second week in June. Well I am extremely happy to say that a beautiful baby boy, Christian Lee, was even more excited to see them! He was born a little early (May 26th) but more importantly he was born healthy and strong. Unfortunately in the work I do for the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Organization, I get to see far too many babies born early who do not even survive. As difficult as that process is, this obviously is such a wonderful experience which I am truly honored to be entrusted with to create such important memories of this child of God. As often is the case upon finishing a session, I often think of the images that I didn't have time to create. Yet at the same time I certainly know how exhausting it is having a newborn so I try to tread lightly. He was a joy to photograph and he has some great parents to guide him through the years. I hope you enjoy the samples I have included here.

A Horse Affection...

2009-05-31T16:22:00.006-04:00

I photographed the daughter of not only great clients the other day, but also very close friends. Payton Nicole and her beautiful horse, Amy, aka "Wise Investment" have been a part of each others lives for some time now. Payton is constantly riding and competing in various Equestrian events around the area both solo and with her school team from St. Francis. But fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Payton, her brother Mason and her folks will be moving to Big Sky Country next week. And yes her horse will be making the trek West as well. While they will be deeply missed we know that the time was right for them and we wish them the best. We certainly hope to catch up with them again in the future and check out their place in Montana. Above are just a few of the images I created with more to follow. Enjoy!!

Graduation Time!!

2009-05-23T18:15:00.005-04:00

With graduations happening all over the area, it was a pleasure to photograph a family yesterday who is experiencing this special milestone. Family came in from all over to share in this awesome accomplishment. Dana and her family are attending Commencement as I type from Kennesaw Mountain High School. She absolutely has the world at her fingertips and I know that the future is extremely bright for her. On top of that she has the love and support of an incredible family as well. I know this has to be a mixed bag of emotions for her parents as their first born is preparing to start her own life of trials and tribulations. I'm confident that they have prepared her well to handle these challenges. Please enjoy the samples I have included above...

Exciting Anticipation...

2009-05-12T16:50:00.007-04:00

I had the pleasure of creating some portraits of a really wonderful young couple who are eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child in June. John and Kristina are not only an attractive duo, but are also just a cool, down to earth couple. It was a really fun session in which I also was able to enjoy the company of their cat and dog, Titus and Olive, who seemed intrigued by the pop of the strobes. Poor Titus the cat was feeling a bit under the weather due to the fun activity of chasing lizards and eating grass...

For the session, both John and Kristina had a pretty good idea of what they were wanting but its always nice to suggest ideas and have the subjects be receptive to them. The ideas do not always work, yet I feel its much better to try and fail, then to have regrets later. I came away extremely pleased with the session and was also happy and honored to be a part of this important phase of their lives. I'm really happy and excited for them.

Enough of my rambling but I certainly hope you enjoy the above "teaser" images.

Incredibly Fun family Session...

2009-05-10T18:11:00.003-04:00

As we honor all of our Mom's this weekend, it was fitting that I had a session that included two wonderful ones. One is relatively new to the game, while the other is a little more comfortable in the role. I just want to say Happy Mothers Day to all of the special Mom's out there today!

Obviously there is nothing more special than family and so its nice when parents can come in from out of town to spend time with their daughter, son in law and of course grandchild. I feel blessed to have been able to capture some of these fun family moments. I always enjoy not only creating the portraits, but simply interacting with my clients. It's that much more gratifying to also spend time with folks who make the journey from out of town because I get to discuss various shared interests as well as other topics. This may sound simplistic, yet it is one of the added benefits of my job which I truly enjoy. In any sense, I hope you some of the sample images that I have included above.

Teachers ARE Special!!!

2009-05-01T14:29:00.007-04:00

I had the pleasure of photographing one of our children's Pre-School teachers recently, along with her husband and their two adorable daughters. We are so fortunate to have Aimee as our daughters teacher and for this we couldn't be happier. Her husband may look a bit familiar and if so it is because he is one of the local weather personalities, Brad Nitz, of WSB TV. Brad was nice enough to forecast a perfect day for us and it certainly did not disappoint! Their children are absolutely amazing and were a riot to watch. Whatever I asked of them, they were happy to oblige, whether it was climbing a tree or playing hide and go seek...All in all I was very pleased with the session and hope you'll like the above "teaser" images.

A Beautiful Day of Portraits...

2009-04-11T14:54:00.008-04:00

I had an opportunity to photograph the children of Dalia Faupel, the Atlanta Editor of Go City Kids fame. She has two wonderful children and I absolutely had a blast not only photographing them, but just watching the interaction that they had with each other. Although the age difference is about three years, you can certainly see the the affection that they have for each other. We couldn't have asked for any better weather as it was about 70 degrees with a slight breeze. They were both full of energy which made it fun trying to keep up with them. Although I enjoy every aspect of my work and feel blessed to do this for a living, the really fun part is just documenting kids being kids. They grow up far too fast and I'm seeing it and realizing it every day with my own children. Above are a few random images from the session...

Getting back in the groove...

2009-04-09T21:34:00.006-04:00

I hate to say it yet again, but I've been extremely tardy with my blogging as things have been quite hectic. With Easter this weekend I wanted to take a moment and put a few of my favorite Bunny portraits from our recent promotion at PLAY in Roswell. These events are quite rare for me as I don't often photograph clients in short time blocks and back to back. I just prefer to draw the personalities out of the subject and with short sessions, this isn't often possible. But with that being said, I had a blast and I couldn't have asked for a more appropriate location as the facilities at PLAY are incredible and the area where we set up worked really well. I just want to again thank Colleen from PLAY for her support. We are discussing other collaborations so please keep an eye out for future events.

One of my Favorite Families...

2009-02-23T14:42:00.003-05:00

I photographed one of my favorite families again recently and the occasion was their daughter, Maggie, 18 month portraits. I know I've said this before but I absolutely love to see how the children are growing and changing between sessions. Its sometimes difficult to visibly see the changes in your own children from day to day, but step away for a period of time and the changes seem huge. Maggie certainly is no different. The last time I photographed her she was crawling at an enormous rate of speed and was only days away from walking. Her crawling speed has definitely transferred to her feet. She was blazing! Unfortunately she was also cutting some teeth and wasn't in the best of moods. So in between tears we did what we could to capture her personality. Her parents, Melody and Todd, are great folks who I have a tremendous amount of respect and affection for.

What a Fun Session...

2009-02-16T16:39:00.007-05:00

I had the opportunity to photograph a very personable young man the other day. Grant is 15 months old and absolutely full of energy. Although ultimately the joke was on me, it was quite fun watching his Mother do her best to contain him so that I could create some portraits. I was confident all along that we were getting some strong images, yet it seemed as though every time his Mom would place on the background Grant would be gone in a flash. Yes another child doubting my reflexes and sports photography background. He seemed to do far better when we opted to loose the formal background and just let him be within his own environment. I thoroughly enjoyed the session as well as the resulting images. Here are just a few samples from the group...

Egad, I'm behind...

2009-02-10T21:48:00.003-05:00

I'm quite embarrassed to say this considering that its now February 10th, but Happy New Year! That shows you just how far behind I have gotten in the first month plus. I truly hope everyone is having a great start to their New Year and pray for health and prosperity for all of you in this crazy economy. The economy has already affected one of our dear friends and vendors, Karen, of Polka Dot Kids Boutique in Marietta. Unfortunately due to slow sales, she was forced to close her doors. Obviously we wish her the best and I know that we'll keep in touch. I'll be posting some information here on some work she'll be doing that I think many folks will be interested to hear.

On a positive front I'm going to be collaborating with a relatively new and local children's clothing designer, Elisa Gollatz. She started her company, KKnoodles, in Charleston, SC and moved to Marietta with her husband and three children almost a year ago. She has really adorable designs that truly allows kids to be kids. The initial photo shoot that I did is actually for her 2009 Fall Line. A brief sampling of some of those outfits and images can be seen below. I'll do my best to get things back on track blog-wise in the coming days...

Family Fun...

2008-12-29T15:07:00.005-05:00

I had the pleasure to photograph one of my past clients that has recently moved out of town. They moved to the Northeast just in time to enjoy all of the crazy weather fluctuations that area has endured lately. Not only did they decide to enjoy Christmas back in the South, but they had some other family members come in town to celebrate along with them. It made for a nice time to create some family portraits as well as do some fun, relaxed pajama portraits. All in all it was great to see them again and I hope they enjoy the sampling of images from the session...

Tis' the Season...

2008-12-09T09:43:00.003-05:00

I had a session yesterday which truly started to put me in the Christmas spirit. With the hint of a chill in the air, the mood was set. I first photographed Katelyn about this time last year and seeing how she has grown and matured is amazing. Having a chance to observe the love of a child by the parents also never gets old. And getting to do this for a living is an absolute blessing. Creating portraits of this family in a beautiful Christmas setting was very cool (no pun intended). I hope you enjoy the samples below...

Cowboy Up...

2008-12-01T22:53:00.003-05:00

I had the opportunity over the weekend to photograph a family from my daughter's Preschool. Two year old Walker was just a ball of energy from start to finish. He is one independent boy and at times I thought I was looking at my own two year old son. They share many similarities and both are/were able to put my sports background to the test as they moved pretty quickly. Walker's parents are great and although I sensed a small bit of frustration because of their son's busy feet, it never showed through. I only witnessed the pride that they had for their son and that is the image that resonates with me. Part of what I love about my job is watching these children be their own person and do my best to capture their personalities. I hope through the "teaser" images, a glimpse of that personality will be evident...

Future heartbreakers...

2008-11-25T11:02:00.003-05:00

I photographed a brother and sister yesterday who were adorable and are definitely going to be heart breakers down the road. Hopefully that is road is very long and far from now. In speaking with their Mom during the session, we discussed how fun and innocent this age is (2 and 4yrs) as I have children the same age. I was mentioning how part of me would like to keep them at this age for a while longer as I dread the thought of teenage rebellion, etc. But we can only love and nurture them the best way we know how and prepare them to be their own person. This is why I enjoy creating portraits of children, siblings interacting and families as a whole. I'm being entrusted to capture and record the emotional and physical bond between family members in a portrait.

These two children, Harrison and Hollis, were so well behaved and polite; it was a joy to see. I certainly understand that even though I'm photographing the kids in their own environment, I still am a stranger with equipment and lights flashing and potentially making things uncomfortable. Both Harrison and Hollis who is only 2.5 yrs old listened well and followed directions to a T. Sometimes I cannot get parents to follow directions, but that is another story... Regardless, this is so much more satisfying than the professional sports and advertising photography ever were. Documenting the relationships of a family really puts things into perspective for me.

Fun in the Park...

2008-11-23T18:01:00.003-05:00

I have been doing my best to keep up with my blog and get all of the families a few samples to view, but unfortunately I just cannot. Things have been absolutely crazy but I am taking some steps to correct things and speed up the process, so please bear with me. I photographed a really fun family in Decatur a few days ago and had a blast. We were a bit hesitant about the weather being warm enough to have a comfortable outdoor part of the session, but thankfully it worked out nicely. We went to a little Park that is right down the road from their home and is quite beautiful. I lived in Decatur about 15 yrs ago and would drive past this Park on a daily basis and had only stopped one time to photograph a fruit and vegetable vendor working out of his old Ford truck. This park I feel is truly a hidden gem for the simplicity of it. In any sense the kids, Sarah Kate and Ethan, seemed to really enjoy themselves until they ran out of gas and we had to call it a session. As always I loved watching the interaction between brother and sister as well as the children and parents. I haven't been let down yet. Just the true love of family...

Family Bliss...

2008-11-21T20:35:00.004-05:00

Earlier this week I photographed a family of four (5 including a kitten) that just have a zest for life. The two boys, Jonah and Roman are just great kids. Granted I only spent a brief time in their presence, yet it was quite obvious to me. I could just tell that they were raised well which is testament to their parents, Art and Nora. As I've said repeatedly, I feel blessed to do what I do. To be able to meet families, be welcomed into their lives and creating meaningful and emotional moments in their lives is as the commercial states, "priceless". Capturing the relationship between brothers and sisters, children and parents and even the family pets is very rewarding. This family was a blessing. They are currently going through some difficult times as Dad is out of full time work, but my prayers are with them that it will only be for a brief period. Art is a very sharp guy not too mention a talented artist and I'm confident he'll find work again soon. Here are a few images from the session...

Fun Session...

2008-11-13T13:01:00.003-05:00

I photographed a really fun family the other day. The child, Madelyn, is a beautiful 13 month old with striking blue eyes. She has an incredible personality and is quite the adept crawler and not too far away from walking. She's probably so quick from having to make some distance between herself and their three large dogs... It was hard for me to determine who she resembled more, her mother or father, but she couldn't go wrong in either direction as her folks made an attractive couple. Her father is a home builder and although the market is currently down, hopefully it will be brief. One thing is certain, he is an artist as their home was absolutely gorgeous. I really enjoyed meeting and photographing this family as they were so down to earth with a great outlook on life. So here is a quick selection of sample images...

Beautiful Rain...

2008-11-10T15:06:00.004-05:00

I saw more Rain yesterday in a couple of hours than I have seen in a year! Everyone must think I'm crazy, but that is a very accurate statement albeit a tad misleading. Actually I photographed the one year portraits of the beautiful Rain J as seen above. It is so awesome to see how a child grows and changes in a year. I originally had the pleasure of creating portraits of her while she was about two weeks old (see above). She has gorgeous Auburn colored hair and was so cute as she was bouncing her head side to side while listening to her father sing a song. Although her Dad's singing was quite pitiful, I think he was attempting to sing a classic tune from The Band. Actually his singing wasn't too bad, I just like giving him a hard time... As for Rain, she was incredible and was very well behaved and happy; a testament to her folks. I hope you enjoy the samples!

Love this time of year...

2008-11-09T12:14:00.002-05:00

I absolutely love this time of year. The weather is extremely comfortable, the colors are gorgeous and life is good. The only thing I don't care for is the shorter days, but what can you do? I photographed another beautiful family earlier this week and had a great time. Madison was quite cute and seemed to be having a good time. She really seemed to love the train/slide and I thought we may have problems getting her to leave that area, but she was incredible. She started to run out of steam about the time we started to lose the light. Her parents were great and it's always fun to watch and capture the interaction between the child/children and Mom and Dad. As always, I've included a few samples from the session above.

Another Fun Family with an Added Glow...

2008-11-08T13:30:00.004-05:00

I had the pleasure earlier in the week to photograph another really fun family. They have a beautiful little girl in Isabel, and as it turns out, another child on the way. Mom definitely had that "glow" about her and it was fun to see. The day was stunning and we opted to photograph outside first because of Daylight Savings and it really worked out quite well. We managed to get to a couple of locations in time to catch the lowering sun and then head back to their house for some of the formal portraits. What a good looking natural family! It is really going to be a difficult edit as we created some really beautiful portraits regardless of how biased I may be...I certainly hope you agree.

Intimate Wedding on the Square...

2008-11-07T21:36:00.003-05:00

I normally only photograph weddings for family or close friends as it is just not my favorite thing to do. Many photographers love to photograph weddings and that is fine. I simply prefer to not do them. Please don't misunderstand me as I enjoy creating beautiful images, I just don't care for the extra drama that can sometimes be associated with all the many family members and friends. Thankfully the wedding I did this past weekend was a joy to do. It was a small, brief and intimate affair on an absolutely beautiful Sunday afternoon. The bride and groom made an extremely attractive couple and it was truly a pleasure to photograph their wedding. I hope you enjoy the few images I posted above.

Family time...

2008-11-03T10:27:00.004-05:00

I first have to apologize for not properly keeping up with my blog, but I have been feeling overwhelmed the past month and struggling to keep on top of things. Unfortunately its the blog that suffers. Not that I'm writing any life changing thoughts or ideas... Yet I'm still much happier when I'm able to keep things properly updated and provide everyone a glimpse into their session and my thoughts on how things went. Anyway now that my apologies are out of the way, lets move on...

I had the opportunity to photograph a great family over the weekend with two bright, adventurous boys. This was early Saturday morning following Halloween. There may have been a little residual effect from the previous night's activities, but all in all the boys were awesome. Andrew and Ryan are very close to my own children's ages minus a few months each. I noticed many similar toys and tendencies which is always interesting to see. We did some customary inside portraits first and let it warm up a bit and then by the time we went outside, it was simply gorgeous. The parents were preparing to entertain later in the day for the Georgia/Florida game and I'm hoping that the pain of that loss has finally eased. I do hope you like the above "teaser" images from the session. This was quite a fun family and I really enjoyed the session.

The Streak Continues...

2008-10-01T15:39:00.002-04:00

Yet another beautiful family to photograph! It seems like the streak is one continuous stream. That not even counting the portraits that I haven't had a chance to post yet! Now there was ONE hiccup in the above family; the father. Thank the Lord for his surrounding wife and daughters because he's a piece of work; not only visually but generally. Yikes!! Just kidding folks. Actually his name is Andy and he is a very good friend of mine. He not only appreciates a good dose of abuse, he dishes it out with the best of them. And honestly my heart goes out to the man as he has one stunning daughter who is at the dating age and another fast approaching. I'm thankful that my daughter is only four as I don't want to be dealing with those situations yet. At least his wife, Monica, can keep things on an even keel because he must be numb to the whole idea. Anyway I was thankful to see them again and create some portraits of the family. I hope you enjoy!

Family Portrait Session...

2008-09-30T13:13:00.003-04:00

I had the opportunity to photograph yet another beautiful family and create portraits with them and their two boys, Elijah and Caleb. Elijah who is almost two was a bundle of energy and always on the move. It was at times quite difficult trying to get the family portrait done because he did not want to be contained which I can definitely relate too with my own 2 yr old boy. When Elijah wasn't surrounded by girls at the miniature train or running around, he was being tossed seemingly sky high by his Dad, Brian. I joked with his parents that they should probably get used to him being surrounded by girls as they definitely seemed to be drawn towards him. Quite the ladies man and not yet two years old! All in all I really enjoyed photographing and watching this family interact and run around the park.

Holiday Card Options, FINALLY!

2008-09-25T16:39:00.006-04:00

I apologize for the huge delay, but as I mentioned in my recent newsletter, things have been absolutely crazy! I am so thankful for that, but at the same time everything just keeps getting pushed back further than I would like, so please forgive me.

Above are my Holiday Card options for 2008. These are truly gorgeous cards. All are 5x7 custom folded cards press printed on fine art paper and are fully customizable with your own greeting (where you see text) on the front as well as on the inside. The inside is purposefully left blank but I can add a greeting for you or you can write one yourself. Based on the card design, you can add as many images as it shows. The backs of the cards correspond with the design on the front minus the images. If anyone would like to see the backs of certain cards, please call or email me. Click on the individual groupings above to see them larger. The cards of course come with envelopes and are sold in packs of 25 starting for only $50! Again Please call or email me with any questions...

And the Beat goes on...

2008-09-22T10:48:00.004-04:00

As many of you who are regular readers know, I have had a rash of just stunning families lately. Obviously, I feel all of the families and children that I photograph are beautiful, but in particular of late they have been very photogenic. I realize most people do not enjoy having their portrait made (myself included), and also do not feel that they look especially good even when I feel they look great. I think it is just one's human nature. In any sense, I once again photographed a beautiful family over the weekend and really enjoyed the whole experience. As I often like to do, we started out at their home with some more formal, yet casual portraits on a rich black background. This is often my "warming up" time with the kids to try and get them comfortable and relaxed in front of my camera. Mom was a little concerned with her youngest, Ryan, being okay with the flash going off but I didn't notice any problems whatsoever as he seemed to be a natural. Couple that with his darling big sis striking pose after pose and we created some incredible portraits. I really enjoyed the ones of her jumping in the air with her "Princess" dress. I have to admit that her Dad did a great job of getting her to practice her poses while I was setting up my equipment.

And talk about similarities, both children were born within weeks of my kids along with following the same gender/age. After we did the formal background we opted to venture to the Park for some fun type of portraits. My only regret is that I may have had them expend too much energy at home because at the park they seemed to lose some wind from their sails... All in all I was very happy with the session and hope you agree with the small sampling that you see above!

Talk about Blue Eyes...

2008-09-08T13:46:00.005-04:00

I have been so blessed recently to be meeting and photographing some incredible families. I had a family session over the weekend and had an absolutely great time. And talk about a photogenic family; they are like a Hallmark card! The two daughters, Katelyn and Shelby, had the most stunning blue eyes. They were such well behaved sweet girls and as far as their parents, I felt like I had known them for years. I know the editing on this session is going to be difficult as we created a ton of great images and I wouldn't want to overload the family. I hope you enjoy the above sample images!

A Beautiful New Addition to a Fun Family...

2008-09-06T23:55:00.010-04:00

I just had the opportunity to meet and photograph a really fun family. They were welcoming a brand new addition. Jennifer and Adam who were visiting from Chicago recently adopted the beautiful baby girl, Maya, and she was getting the warm Southern welcome while meeting her Grandparents and sister's family.

I think her cousin's, Eli and Asher, will end up being quite protective of her. Eli has an infectious, yet sometimes mischievous smile and is quite the comedian. His younger brother Asher was amazing me with his ball catching and throwing abilities for his age. It certainly would be nice to have a eye in the back of your head as their mother could attest as balls were flying from all directions...

All in all I had a great time meeting and photographing everyone and they made me feel right at home. Above are a small sampling of some of the images we created.

A Wonderful Family and Beautiful 1 Year Old...

2008-09-03T22:02:00.006-04:00

I recently photographed the the first year portraits of a beautiful little girl who I've had a chance to document most of this past year. I've watched her go from the rolling stages to sitting up and now just days away from walking. Maggie's incredible personality is right on par with her adorable looks. In addition to Maggie being so sweet is that I've really grown close to her parents, Melody and Todd. They are very special people themselves and I feel so very fortunate to have met them and been able to create portraits of them this past year. In addition they have a difficult situation they have been dealing with recently so if you can keep them in your prayers, they and I would appreciate it. Above are a few images from the session...

Dodging the Showers...

2008-08-25T23:17:00.005-04:00

I did a family and children's session on Saturday and had a great time with a fun family and extended family. We ended up having to dodge a few drops of rain but all in all the overcast and cloudy conditions were quite welcome to me. Anyone who receives my newsletters will quickly recognize that overcast conditions are some of my favorite type of light. Not only that, but it helped keep the temperatures more bearable as well. We did the session at the East Cobb Park which is where I originally met the mom, Kim, at the Ultimate Play Date a few months ago where I had a table set up.

The family was great and their nearly two year old daughter was absolutely precious. I got the feeling she has her Dad wrapped around her finger which is quite understandable. I certainly know my daughter gets some preferential treatment at times... Also along for the session was the father's (Josh) sister, Casey, and her daughter Ashely. They were great fun and added to the enjoyment of the session. Above are just a few of the many portraits we created. Enjoy!

Incredibly Fun Family...

2008-08-17T16:03:00.002-04:00

I had a really fun session Saturday with a great family who are fairly new to the area. They have two absolutely beautiful little girls, Ally and Kaitlyn. These two were fearless! Apparently this fearlessness has led to them excelling in gymnastics which does not surprise me in the least. They were climbing trees, playing on the biggest slides in the playground and also feeding the sometimes aggressive acting ducks of the pond. They were such a fun and good looking family and it was really nice watching them interact with one another while capturing their expressions.
Thankfully the weather cooperated for us and the clouds help to keep the temperatures fairly moderate for the majority of the session.

So above is just a few of the promised "teaser" images from the session. I cannot wait to get together to show them the rest...

Fun Family Session...

2008-08-10T00:40:00.002-04:00

This morning I had a fun and exciting family session with a young family of four. They have seven month old Sebastian and a two and a half year old boy named Everest whose name is derived from the World's Highest Mountain. And he is doing his part to live up to that name as he is a tall, striking young boy. He is probably as tall as my soon to be four year old girl. Anyway, we all had an interesting time keeping the boys attention and I got the distinct impression that their parents, Patricia and Stephen weren't counting on many successful images. As I mentioned in a recent entry, this is a fairly normal response from parents during a session because their focus is their children. I try to sneak between all the squirms and frowns to capture those fractions of seconds where I see an expression that is memorable. Above is a few of those moments. I told Patricia and Stephen that I would do my best to post a few images prior to leaving town (which is now about T-minus 6 hrs and counting), so here they are. I have quite a few more that I know they'll really enjoy; until then...

Bloggin Misbehaving...

2008-08-09T17:12:00.005-04:00

Pardon me for being a bit slack with my bloggin', but its been awfully hectic and I'm doing my best to get a couple posts in before splitting town for a Corporate job in D.C.

I did want to get several images up that I had promised to one of my favorite clients, Maggie and Jack. Maggie gave birth in June to another beautiful girl, Bailey Josephine, to accompany their other daughter, Sophia who recently turned two. So we did some portraits of Bailey and then did our best to get images of the two girls alone. That proved more of a challenge than we had hoped. In photographing Bailey, she did start to cry after a few minutes and of course I kept clicking away. For anyone who will listen, one of my favorite images that I have done of children was done last year of Bailey's sister Sophia. Her mom was wanting to change outfits and she was having none of it and in turn started crying. Of course it could have been she was scared of the photographer, but whatever the reason she was crying. Since I had images of Sophia crying, it was natural for me to photograph Bailey crying as seen above. To me its just part of a child's many moods. Perhaps we only display our children's portraits with smiles on their faces, yet I still am moved by my children crying and sometimes will document it before consoling them.

Back to the session. Sophia didn't seem too interested in the session for quite some time until finally coming around toward the end. It may have been me, the weather or she could have been just sleepy. But in the end she came around and for that I was thankful. All in all I was very happy with the results of the combined session and have thus displayed some random "teaser" images above. Enjoy!

Playing Blog Catch-up...

2008-08-02T15:26:00.002-04:00

I got behind a few days with my blog and will do my best to catch up as I can. Things have been thankfully crazy good with no let up in site so I'll do my best to stay on top of my blogging.

I had the pleasure yesterday of creating portraits of Heidi Morris' children at the East Cobb Park. For many of you who already know and those of you who don't, Heidi is the current President of the East Cobb Park. I spend a great deal of time there with my family and we thoroughly enjoy it. It is a nice clean, well maintained park that is really convenient for my family and seemingly the perfect size. Heidi has done a tremendous job with the park and has big plans for it. We cannot wait. For those of you who haven't been, you really must check it out.

Back to the session. Her kids were really fun to work with. I do feel a little sorry for Ella because she has to at times deal with two older brothers who are full of energy and possible mischief. I felt like I was traveling in time back to my youth and looking in a mirror. All in all they were very well behaved and did quite well despite the hot, humid conditions. I hope you enjoy the small sampling of portraits above...

Children's Portrait Session

2008-07-25T16:57:00.004-04:00

I had the pleasure yesterday of creating portraits of two amazing young children. Their mom had them dressed in their Sunday finest and I was doing my best to capture the images I wanted before they got dirty or wet. When we walked across the bridge and they saw the creek, they mentioned getting in the water. While I was up for that and their mom seemed to be also, I was hoping to finish the session in the water rather than start it there. Luckily mom and I prevailed. They were really a joy to work with and seemed almost in tune with one another. As many parents with multiple children can attest, being in tune with one another is certainly not a given. These two were not only in tune when they needed to be but played off one another quite well for kicks. Case in point, as the session was winding down and they were starting to tire, one would yawn while the other smiled and visa versa. It was quite comical. Talk about toying with the photographer! All in all I had a great time and hope they did as well. Please enjoy the above images.

Family Portrait Session...

2008-07-24T15:02:00.002-04:00

I just created some family and children portraits of a really fun family of four. The husband, Aaron, is a policeman which leaves his lovely wife Amy to handle the kids. She/they obviously do a wonderful job as the boys were very easy and fun to work with. The only real difficult part was trying to get the youngest, Andrew, to smile. Someone else commented that he has far too serious an expression at his age. Perhaps that expression comes from watching too many Braves games with his Dad, a definite Braves-aholic. I myself am a huge Braves fan and covered them for many years when I was doing my professional sports photography, but I'm probably getting an ulcer watching them lately... Honestly though, I had a blast during this session and thankfully they agreed to any idea that I presented even though the heat and humidity was starting to get intense. So without me rambling on too much more, I'll let the images above speak for themselves.

Front Lobby Images for PLAY in Roswell

2008-07-22T15:48:00.003-04:00

I was extremely honored and excited to get a call in June from Colleen MacDonald who owns PLAY in Roswell. This is the new and improved home of her former Activity center for kids, The Playroom, in Marietta. She and I became friends last year when I offered to provide her with some gift certificates for various events she had at her aforementioned location. I then also did a portrait session of herself and her daughter for the holidays. Anyway, she contacted me and asked me if I would produce some images of kids playing in her new location that she could then display in the front lobby. Of course I jumped at the chance as it would be not only a fun opportunity to get creative but also be great exposure in her incredible facility. She basically gave me free reign to Play and be artistic. It certainly wasn't hard to find willing models as all the kids there were absolutely beaming with excitement as they were going from one area to the next. My "concept" was to not only capture great portraits of the kids enjoying the facility but to do it in a visually graphic way. By this I mean I would utilize the play areas and objects that the kids were using and the different shapes of each. For instance you can dive into a pit of foam squares, play with large balls or get into a pool of multi-colored balls. Go through a tunnel or slide down a curvy slide...

Anyway, I cannot wait to create more images as she continues to grow and expand her facility. She has plans for a rock climbing wall among other things. But if you have not visited yet, I strongly suggest doing so as it is awesome. They have daycare facilities for the kids, Wifi for adults, a private changing and nursing area for new moms and many other amenities. The images I produced as well as a partial view of her lobby can be seen above. I'd love to hear your comments.

Portrait Session...

2008-07-21T15:12:00.002-04:00

My wife Susan recently asked me to donate a couple free sessions for a 2nd Anniversary event that the Atlanta Area Moms Online Board (http://www.atlantaareamommies.com) was having. Its rare that I refuse a request from my wife so I happily obliged. One of the winners contacted me soon after to set up the session which we did last Friday. What a wonderful family! They have a 21 month old boy named Nathaniel who has an incredible personality and was also full of energy. We did a number of portraits on backgrounds at their home and then traveled to a local park to do some more. I'm hoping for his mom Carrie that he expended most of that energy and then had a good afternoon nap! I had a really fun time meeting Carrie, Mark and of course Nataniel and hope they enjoy the tiny tease of images captured above.

Family Portrait Session...

2008-07-18T22:30:00.003-04:00

I had the opportunity to create individual and family portraits of a local family of five. We had a really fun time despite the heat and humidity. The children ranged in age from 6 weeks old through 11 years old. They were absolutely full of energy with the exception of the 6 week old who slept through most of the session. The whole family was in and out of a nearby creek and were totally up for each and every idea I had as far as creating portraits. They wanted to have a very natural and minimally posed session and think we accomplished that pretty well. I really enjoyed photographing Heath and Lori and their kids who I first met at the Ultimate Playdate at East Cobb Park back in May. I hope you enjoy the above portraits!

More Fun with the Kids...

2008-07-14T18:53:00.003-04:00

These were meant for an earlier post but never quite made it. I have now promised my wife I would post them primarily for family but also for my regular readers too. We took these actually on the 4th of July late in the day and had a blast letting the kids run wild. The only drawback was the fact that they were soaked for the ride home and had to sit nearly butt naked for the short trip. Anyway, lets get to the portraits...

Metro Montage VIII

2008-07-09T14:03:00.004-04:00

Just a quick little reminder that The Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art's Metro Montage VIII Juried Art Exhibition will be opening this Saturday (12th) Evening at 6pm. This will be the third time I have entered and have been selected to participate in this exhibition. Normally there is a theme for the exhibition, but this year there was none. As always though, there is some very talented and gifted artists of all mediums. I have taken a couple of years off from exhibiting and selling my artwork. Actually my last solo exhibition was of all my Olympic Sports Art held at the United States Olympic Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2005. This being an Olympic year always brings back fond memories of covering the Olympics for Sports Illustrated as well as the Olympic Committee. In any event, here is the one and only image I submitted for the Metro Montage. I hope you enjoy it and that you'll come and check out all the work from the other local area artists.

More from our Horse Whisperer...

2008-07-08T18:01:00.002-04:00

Here are a few more images of Larry and his Babies. The images obviously do not do his work justice, but watching him interact and work with his horses is really amazing. Maybe his key is those carrots, but I don't think so. Hopefully in a future posting I'll have some images of my kids riding with Grandpa Larry and Killian Red and/or Spirit. Until then, these will have to suffice...

Family Fun Time...

2008-07-07T14:25:00.003-04:00

Yes, yes I realize I have been bad again keeping up with my blog and staying up to date. Honestly though, I do not post images of all my sessions unless they have agreed to allow me to do so. So with that in mind, please know that I usually love to "tease" my clients with images from their sessions, I also love to save the major emotional impact for the viewing session in their home. This way they get to view the images in a beautiful large way as opposed to a fairly tiny image on my blog. So there you have it.

I wanted to share some portraits that I created of my father in law over the 4th of July weekend. Larry is an incredible horseman and artist. His love and passion is his horses of which he has two; Spirit and Killian. He has such an amazing way with horses that is so fun to witness. He is what my wife (his daughter) and I call our horse whisperer. He routinely hauls horses across the state and the country for that matter for his various clients, but riding his "babies" in the mountains of Georgia or Kennesaw Mountain is where he really has fun. He also recently got to take Killian swimming in a lake in Newnan, Georgia. From all reports, Killian could hardly contain himself. As for the artist aspect of Larry, all you have to do is look at the buildings and structures he creates with his hands. The man can build, fix and create anything you can imagine. Part of his handywork can be seen of the barn in the portrait of himself and Killian. By the way, Killian is the reddish of the two horses and favors the color of the beer bearing its name...

Peachtree Road Race Posters Available Again!

2008-06-16T13:38:00.002-04:00

Its about that time again. Peachtree Road Race time that is. And again, I've been asked to make the information available for purchasing my posters, Limited Edition Artist Proofs as well as notecards. As many of you know, the Peachtree Road Race is one of if the premier 10 K Races in the world and is the largest 10 K in the world with 55,000 competitors.

The notecards are two each of four different images and come of course with envelopes. The Limited Edition Artist Proofs come signed and numbered but with no other text such as on the posters. The easiet way to order is directly from my website. Simply click on the "shop" button and type in: "Peachtree". Please contact me with any questions.

HS Senior Portrait Session...

2008-06-14T13:59:00.001-04:00

I had the pleasure yesterday of photographing my real estate agents daughter, Natalie, for her Senior Portraits. She is a really sweet, outgoing girl who is setting to take the world by storm. I had a really fun time creating portraits of her and she was so very easy to work with. I tend to photograph many seniors especially this time of year and often times they take a little while getting comfortable. She was the exact opposite and was up for any location I suggested. All of this and the girl rarely seemed to blink; at least when I had my camera trained on her. Out of the whole session I think I trashed one image because of a blink. Although I only spent a relatively short time with her, she seemed to have a very similar personality as her Dad which is cool, calm and relaxed. By the way, Happy Fathers Day, Dan! Look for these pages to be full of more HS Seniors in the coming days and weeks as my schedule is getting packed due to some of the specials I am running. Please call or email me for more information! Here are a few images from Natalie's session...

Heat Relief for the Kids...

2008-06-09T23:11:00.000-04:00

As we all know far too well, the heat has been extremely oppressive much too early this summer. We enjoy going down to our subdivision pool but when my kids want to cool off before or after dinner and time is a bit fleeting to run down to the big pool, we pull out the cozy little blow up pool and have a blast. I can cook food on the grill and keep an eye out to help control the craziness thats sure to ensue. My daughter Amelia will be 4 the end of September and has taken some swimming lessons but is not quite there yet. She is always more than happy to drag her little brother in and give him some tips while he's kicking and screaming. She definitely seems to take great pleasure in tormenting him half the time and loving on him the rest. She will get her paybacks, I'm confident. Anyway, I don't get to do it enough because of my schedule, but love to pull out the camera and create some fun portraits in a nice relaxed situation. The toughest part is getting them to stop for half a second to look at the camera. So enjoy another glimpse into my life's eye's...

Oh, oh so tardy...

2008-05-31T10:32:00.000-04:00

For the first time this year I managed to get really, really behind with my posts. Things have been absolutely crazy which I know is a very poor excuse, but its all I got. So I promise to be more diligent in keeping up to date with not only postings from my current and recent portrait sessions but also other relevant news. This will include some sports samples that clients have requested, the charity work that I'm involved in and also current happenings such as art exhibits that I'm participating in.

Let me first begin with my portrait session from yesterday. This was a session for a 14 month old boy, Bennett. He was absolutely filled with energy and curiosity and was quite interested in all of my lighting and camera equipment. From what his folks told me, that is par for the course and he is fascinated with all of his fathers toys and gadgets as well. Mr. Bennett had a great personality and seemed to warm up to the camera very quickly. On occasion he would flash me one of those deadly stares when I took away my camera before he was done looking at the portrait of himself that I just created. His parents, Amy and Michael were incredible. They were up for each and every idea I had and it made for what I call a perfect session. I was really pleased with the results and hope they will be too. I'm just going to give them a very small sampling of the portraits I created yesterday. I will be following up in the days ahead with the info and images I mentioned beforehand. Enjoy for now!!

Been misbehaving'...

2008-04-23T06:40:00.000-04:00

I have gotten real behind in my posts for the first time this year and I apologize. I swore it wasn't going to happen and yet I let it happen... So I am making a promise once again to nip it in the bud right now and stay up to date. Over the next several posts, I'll start with the most recent portrait session and back up... I had the opportunity over the weekend to create portraits of some really great kids; Donivan, Kaylee and a beautiful 8 month old girl, Lily. Their mother, Shannon, had contacted me about photographing them and capturing their personalities without having too "forced" of a look. This was a little challenging because there is a decent age gap between all three kids and thus some varying dynamics. But even with that several things remained; they were extremely well behaved and just great kids (a testament to their parents), they were fun, and they were quite photogenic as you can easily see. Also the weather was unbelievable and was about as perfect as one could ever ask for, except for possibly the pollen, but even that didn't seem too bad. I created quite a few images over the course of our session and these were just a quick sampling of our end result. I hope you have enjoyed them and I can't wait to show the parents the complete session!